Yeah, see Michael Jordan if you think basketball-related ownership is a great idea. I'd rather have a Mark Cuban-type owner, and I'm surprised one hasn't popped up yet. Surely there must be some Raptors fans old enough to be billionaires by now, it's been 16 years! Actually wait, say they were 25 when the Raptors started, they would be 41 now which might be too young for a billionaire. Wait another 10 years.

For starters, whomever buys the Teachers’ shares has to work with current board chairman, Larry Tanenbaum, who holds right of first refusal on any MLSE shares sold. With Balsillie, that would never fly: Not that long ago, Balsillie was investigating the possibility of putting a second team in Toronto or around Toronto. You think Tanenbaum would agree to do business with someone who tried to unseat his own business and potentially raise a challenge to that empire?

Knowing Tanenbaum, the answer to that question is elementary.

The second hurdle in Balsillie’s way, if he had any interest in bidding, which he hasn’t said he does, is the National Hockey League itself. In order to become an owner, he would require league approval. There is basically no chance the NHL would approve of him. They still blame him, in part, for what became of the expensive Phoenix mess which is still all over the league’s hands, and many NHL governors and high-end executives have nothing but bad things to say about Balsillie’s attempts to be an owner in Pittsburgh and Nashville before the Phoenix end-around.

So the next time someone mentions Jim Balsillie, the RIM billionaire, as a potential owner of the Leafs, smile and tell them the truth – it’s absolutely impossible.